Pastoral Letters in the New Testament - Case Study Example

Other Writings UNIT 5 Lesson 5 Discussion Question The debate to Pauline hip has historically defined as the absence of the of Pauline in the epistle. In addition, the grammar, style and vocabulary of the epistle where also seem to differ from the Pauline’s other writings. Although it can be claimed that the argument of varying grammar, style and vocabulary is still surrounded by many confusions, particularly since epistles were being written to entirely different addressees and with an entirely different motivation as compared to other epistles of Paul. The differences in any of the vocabulary, where words employed by Paul were not used in other writings are in the context that contrast Jesus reflected by Paul in his writing with Jewish history and theology. After considering the objections to Paul’s authorship, it is essentially presented the evidence which firmly advocates Paul as the most likely author of epistles. There is no way to differentiate the literary gauges relating to grammar, vocabulary and style with that of other writings of these proposed authors as it can be argued that for many of them have no other literature to compare with. It can be further stated that those objection presented against Pauline authorship can be identified as a way to preclude Pauline authorship. Finally, it can be concluded that Paul was the most likely writer of epistles. This is because there is no rigid evidence that define the name of author other than Pauline (Brown 620-637). Written Assignments 1 The ‘message of the Letter to the Ephesians’ reflects important information in relation to church and its significance towards Ephesians. The letter reflected the most mature thoughts about meaning of Christianity. The letter was criticized as a few of critics claimed that the letter focused less on the historic Jesus while more emphasis was placed on cosmic Christ. Ephesians were confused about the picture presenting the offerings of Paul in relation to sufferings acquired for the development of church. In this regard, the ideas presented through the letter are determined to be unclear without offering important information about the wrong perceptions of Ephesians in relation to it. The ideas presented a misleading philosophy about Christology as well as its principalities. As Raymond Edward Brown, the author of the book ‘An introduction to the New Testament’ presented, “Eph 2: 1 9-20 describes Christians as fellow citizens with the saints and household members of God who are built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In I Cor 3: 10-11 Paul says, "I laid a foundation ... No other foundation can anyone lay than the one that has been laid, which is Jesus Christ" (Brown 635). The issue of the foundation laid by Paul and his disciples in relation to Christ and church had led to different arguments for providing different reflections about the ideas revealed through the letter. Moreover, the author of the book had presented adequate information about the issues and the ideas that were reflected through epistles. Respectively, the authors of epistles had presented different images of Christ as a foundation or a cornerstone. In this context, the authors implied that Christ is portrayed as a supportive factor for church but an inactive one. On the other hand, John’s epistle signified that Christ has a dynamic presence in church (Brown 620-637). Written Assignments 2 The “Letter to the Hebrews” was the most significant work in the New Testament written in Greek. The letter provided important information in relation to the facts about the exceptional insights about Christianity. "We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God" (Brown 686) stated the superiority of Christ as well as His priesthood. The letter to the Hebrew had depicted an immense content presenting Israelite cult. It has been ascertained that there is no direct evidence that reflects intended readership. However, it has been widely claimed that the word “Hebrews" (pros Hebraious) is reflected in the oldest manuscripts. The Greek term “Hebraios” was claimed to be commonly used for representing Jews as compared to gentiles. Thus, the meaning in the title "To the Hebrews” can be identified to be closely linked with the Jewish Christians in general (Brown 683-704). Notably, it can be stated that the “Letter to the Hebrews” was written to Jewish Christians and Christians from different mixed communities as recognized from the statement “it is quite possible that a mixed community of Christians was addressed, rather than simply Jewish Christians” (Brown 698). Lesson 5.2 Discussion Question From the study of the book, it can be identified that Pastoral Epistles symbolize letters written by leaders representing church. The Pastoral Epistles represented the letters written by John to Titus and Timothy. The letters were written outlining different factors that include development of leaders as well as their promotions, qualifications, organizational structures of church and setting along with the execution of organizational goals. In this regard, the letters were identified to offer information in relation to governance, growth as well as effectiveness of church. The Pastoral Epistles offered material for reflecting on how affiliations within non-church workplaces need to be created and maintained, while stressing the special role of the church community. The different prospects of the New Testament were developed on the basis of epistolary format, style, chronology, theology and content. The letters were presented with the intention of ensuring that the operations of church were conducted in an effective manner. They also provide important information about authorship structure in accordance with which church are required to be developed. In this respect, it has been identified that the structure of church is based on formal office structure comprising elders, deacons and bishops. The individuals offered with the responsibility of executing the operations of church should hold an authority position over community members (Brown 638-680). Subsequently, the letters provided important information based on which communities should be managed as well as coordinated. Accordingly, the letters offered principles of Christianity, so that communities are developed with the belief in Christ. The letters also intend to preach members of the communities about the importance of church, as Christ has dynamic presence in it. In this context, each community represented is required to develop expression as well as experience on the basis of certain specific contexts (Augsburg Fortress Publishers, “Pastoral Letters: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus”; Brown 638-680). The letters were written with the objective of developing the Christian communities as identified from the statement “That term is appropriate in another way because a prominent theme in Titus and I Tim is church structure or order, i.e., the appointment of officials to administer the Christian community; and often we designate such figures "pastors” (Brown 629). Written Assignment The two Catholic Epistles which include ‘First Letter of Peter’ and ‘Epistle of James’ were considered as these letters were treated in a separate manner as compared to the letters written by Paul. The letters were summarized with the aim of having adequate understanding about the contents that were preached through them. Peter who was Jesus’s disciple wrote the first letter of Peter. Peter acted as a leader in Christian church of Jerusalem. The letter was written in Jewish greeting format. In the body of the letter, Peter greeted the believers of Christ by affirming their dignity as well as identity for Christianity. The letter was written for Christians describing the troubles they were suffering from. The troubles were means to test the Christians and in this regard, they were required to have their trust in God. The believers of Christ were identified to be joyful by having their trust along with belief in God. The believers were also joyful for the sacrifice that son of God, Jesus made by giving His life in order to develop trust amid Christians. Through the letter, Peter wanted to encourage the believers to be holy and accordingly, their troubles will be over in a short time. The letter also signifies that believers attaining holiness will reside in heaven after their death without any suffering. The letter also communicated the message that Jesus had suffered many things and also faced insults from people but He had trusted God. In this regard, the death of Jesus was symbolized, as a punishment in relation to the evil deeds of the people (Boring 358-367). Epistle (letter) of James was written for "To the twelve tribes in the diaspora" (Brown 728), which signified that the letter addressed Jews dispersed from the Holy Land i.e. Jerusalem. The letter comprised different important themes in relation to the practical life of Christians. The letter signified that people are required to have a better understanding about their needs for their livelihood. It was advocated in the letter that, the people in order to be successful in life are required to exercise pure religion for better community development with respect to oaths as well as prayer. The letter also presented important information about the relationship that exists between work and faith. In this regard, James in the letter quoted that "a person is justified by works and not by faith alone" (Brown 732) which implied that people’s deeds demonstrate their living faith. The letter reflected that during difficult situations, people should pray in order to overcome their troubles. Subsequently, the letter signified that Christians in their life should pray all the time in order to build their faith in God. Additionally, the people should have a better control on their tongue, which depicts moral quality. Respectively, people with modest speech will be able to have appropriate moral evaluations along with life decisions. The letter also implied that people building their trust as well as faith on God are required to develop their life on factors that include patience, humanity as well as prayer (Brown 725-747; Hiebert, “The Unifying Theme of the Epistle of James”). Works Cited “Pastoral Letters: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus.” Augsburg Fortress Publishers. n.d. Web. 10 Jun. 2014. Boring, M. Eugene. “First Peter in Recent Study.” Word & World 24.4 (2004): 358-367. Print. Brown, Raymond Edward. An Introduction to the New Testament. New York: Doubleday, 1997. Print. Hiebert, D. Edmond. The Unifying Theme of the Epistle of James. 1978. Web. 10 Jun. 2014. Read More